scholarly journals Realignment of Product Stewardship towards Chemical Regulations, the Circular Economy and Corporate Social Responsibility – a Delphi Study

Author(s):  
Sukhraj Takhar ◽  
Kapila Liyanage
2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 489-498
Author(s):  
Simona Fortunati ◽  
Donato Morea ◽  
Enrico Maria Mosconi

The persistent exploitation of natural resources and the consequent use of consumption are driving global food demand with the result that agricultural activity is becoming less and less environmentally friendly. The circular economy (CE) can become a valid alternative, inserting the economic-agricultural system into the harmonic process of material circulation. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) model is particularly interesting not only because of the ethical dimension of the company but also as a factor of strategic business improvement that combines the concepts of CSR and CE as possible solutions for developing sustainable business processes. The objective of the work is to highlight a detailed framework of how the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Italian agri-food industry can provide an adequate level of communication, circular strategies and social responsibility practices. The research methodology is based on a qualitative multiple study conducted on a sample of nine companies in the Italian territory. The study highlights the attention of companies on the issues of the CE for the achievement of the set sustainable objectives and the attention to CSR and CE practices. The work has several implications. It provides a further understanding of CSR and CE policies as enabling factors for the development of sustainable organizational performance in agriculture. Moreover, it better investigates the relationship between CSR and the CE. Finally, it analyses the SMEs state of the art in the CE field and strengthens the concept of CE by analysing corporate practices consistent with sustainability reports.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2329
Author(s):  
Edita Olaizola ◽  
Rafael Morales-Sánchez ◽  
Marcos Eguiguren Huerta

Since the end of the last century, different approaches for corporate management have been appearing that try to incorporate the social advances that are being produced and disseminated thanks to the greater capacity of communication available through social networks and other traditional avenues. Among the best known are Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, the Circular Economy, and Collaborative Economics. All of them add value to organisations, and all of them have a common characteristic: they are anthropocentric approaches. Our proposal goes a step further: we need a worldview that is capable of placing organisations in a position of continuous learning looking at nature, because it is the best way to integrate into it as a more ecosystem and thus achieve its flowering respecting the once to all the other subsystems that make up the planet: Organizational Biomimicry. This work compares the anthropocentric vision with the worldview at the same time that it offers a guide of the essential steps so that Organizational Biomimicry is the new model of corporate management.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Dr. Hogeforster

<p>Struktur und Bedeutung kleiner und mittlerer Unternehmen (KMU) in 11 Ostseeländern; bestehende Engpässe sowie Wachstumsfelder Energie, Klima- und Umweltschutz; Realisierung von Ökonomie durch Ökologie und nachhaltiges Wirtschaften der KMU; Beispiele für Leistungen und realisierte Projekte im Klima- und Umweltschutz: Cradle to Cradle, Corporate Social Responsibility, Skills Alliance Energy saving and sustainable Construction, Energy Service Manager in SMEs, Management and Technologies of Water, Wastewater, Waste and Circular Economy, Entwicklung und Export angepasster Energie- und Umwelttechnologien in Schwellen- und Entwicklungsländern; Ausblick auf künftige Beiträge im Klima- und Umweltschutz.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1129-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabina Scarpellini ◽  
Luz María Marín-Vinuesa ◽  
Alfonso Aranda-Usón ◽  
Pilar Portillo-Tarragona

Purpose This paper aims to define and measure the environmental capabilities that are applied when the circular economy (CE) is introduced in businesses. Founded on the dynamic capabilities theoretical approach, the study analyzes different environmental competences that firms apply during this process. Environmental management systems, corporate social responsibility, reporting and accountability and other environmental accounting practices are studied in the same analytical framework used to study the environmental capabilities that influence the circular scope (CS) of firms. This study contributes to bridging the gap between academic research focused on environmental accounting and that investigating the introduction of the CE in businesses. Design/methodology/approach The results were obtained by using partial least squares structural equation modeling to analyze the relationship between environmental capabilities for the CE and the CS achieved by a sample of Spanish firms with more than 50 employees that expressed interest in the CE, eco-design, eco-innovation and other environmental issues. Findings Based on an analysis using the dynamic capabilities theoretical approach, the results suggest a positive relationship between the CS of firms, their environmental accounting practices and their level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and accountability. Stakeholders’ pressure – which has a mediating effect on the CS of firms – is also analyzed, adding new insights to recent studies of this topic at the micro-level. The authors also explore whether the CS of businesses, which is related to the degree of their development of capabilities, influences environmental and financial performance. Practical implications The new insights obtained in this study can help overcome the limitations of conventional accounting approaches and incorporates a much broader scale of environmental information that can be applied to CE practices. These results also offer insights to practitioners regarding the internal measurement processes related to the CE and regarding CSR in particular for small and medium enterprises, because these metrics can be partially applied depending on the practices introduced in each firm. For policymakers, a better understanding of the CE’s introduction into businesses will contribute to the design of policies that can enhance its deployment, for example, by providing tools that set up regional priorities depending on the CE-related practices adopted by the firms located in the territory. Social implications A CE involves the transformation of a linear economic model into a circular one to reduce dependence on raw materials and energy and to reduce the environmental impact of production and consumption. Understanding how to manage the specific competences that integrate capabilities applied to the CE will allow firms to improve their social and environmental reporting. In addition, other social implications of this study relate to improving relationships with consumers and stakeholders and to the practice of social corporate sustainability. Originality/value This study goes beyond previous research on the CE to extend the authors’ knowledge about its adoption at the micro-level by taking a transversal approach, as its subject spans the fields of environmental accounting and the CE while addressing both in a framework of analysis. The analysis of the accounting concerns of the CE in businesses and the study of concerns related to endogenous environmental competences are quite original under the theoretical framework of dynamic capabilities, and this study is a first step in an incipient line of inquiry.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5120
Author(s):  
Simona Fortunati ◽  
Laura Martiniello ◽  
Donato Morea

In the literature, circular economy (CE) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are increasingly interconnected concepts. Turon at al. (2016) consider CE the guidelines of conduct for designing and developing good CSR strategies. In particular, the corporate management philosophy needs to be translated into mandatory CSR reports that better frames circular economy objectives by identifying and communicating actions to achieve sustainable development goals. The purpose of this paper is to explore a number of CSR reports in order to understand if cosmetic multinationals’ (MNC) nonfinancial reporting is focused on the concept of circular economy and if CSR reports ensure an adequate level of disclosure to circular strategies. Moreover, the paper highlights the advantages that arise by converging the concepts of CSR and CE. The originality of this paper lies on providing evidence on “how” MNC are implementing a circular model. This paper contributes to our understanding on the relation between CSR and CE; it assesses the state of the art of circular strategies in MNC and proposes a consolidation of the concept of CE in terms of sustainable strategic and managerial practices communicated to the market by CSR reports. Moreover, it brings MNC to a better understanding of the ways to communicate their new circular business model. The analysis reveals a good level of attention by MNC to circularity in drafting their CSR reports that in many cases are able to describe objectives and actions that embrace multiple dimensions.


Author(s):  
Mara Del Baldo ◽  
Mariapia D’Anghela

The CE model assures a different approach on the relations between economy, environment and society. The CE concept have been investigated in the recent literature above all in understanding the approaches of businesses towards this new model. The paper presents a short literature review aimed at exploring how the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and (CE) are analysed in literature directing attention on how the companies incorporate the CE concept in their sustainability practices. The work contributes to provide insights on how the companies are integrating the CE activities in CSR practices and shows that a deeper investigation of the topic is needed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gláucya Daú ◽  
Annibal Scavarda ◽  
Luiz Felipe Scavarda ◽  
Vivianne Julianelli Taveira Portugal

Concern regarding the circular economy and Industry 4.0 is starting to increase in the emerging countries. This research study aims to analyze the healthcare sustainable supply chain 4.0 by proposing the circular economy transition conceptual framework with the corporate social responsibility mirror. The authors developed an observation guideline to collect empirical data from a private healthcare institution located in Rio de Janeiro, which has been promoting investment in new technologies within its operations. The research observation is between January and April 2017. The results show the glass structure can be a channel that provides the lightning resources, the solar energy with the photovoltaic panels, and the water management. The corporate social responsibility links the social role in healthcare institutions with sustainable practices and it improves smart technologies. The applicability of the internet of things and the internet of services adds value to sustainable practices. The circular economy transition conceptual framework integrates the result analyses. The research concludes that the union among the triple bottom line, Industry 4.0, and the corporate social responsibility allows the transition from the linear model to the circular model and can improve the sustainable healthcare supply chain 4.0.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
Solveiga Blumberga ◽  
Ance Saulīte

The transition to circular economy shifts attention to re-use, repair, restoration and recycling of materials and products. What was previously considered to be waste can be turned into resources. The transition to a circular economy where the value of products, materials and resources is maintained for as long as possible and where as little waste is generated as possible is a significant contribution to the common effort in the European Union to create a sustainable low-carbon economy in which resources are used efficiently. Such an approach allows to transform the EU economy and generate new advantages for it (European Commission, 2015). Our individual action and provided support may help peers notice an opportunity and a solution for the future. The aims of the study are: To investigate the evaluation of the significance of the consumers’ corporate social responsibility and waste-sorting habits and to provide recommendations for improved access to the separate waste collection service. The research questions for achieving the objectives of the study were the following: How do consumers evaluate corporate social responsibility of companies in general? What are the waste-sorting habits of consumers? Are there statistically significant differences in the waste-sorting habits between various consumer generations? The authors prepared a unique consumer survey in which economically active inhabitants of the capital of Latvia, aged 15 to 71 years, participated. The results of our survey showed that the respondents rated the corporate social responsibility of companies as essential and emphasized that it was important for the large-size enterprises to operate ethically. The waste-sorting process itself creates disbelief among the respondents and also suspicion that all sorted waste is lumped together and removed to disposal sites.


Complexity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Zenghua Gong ◽  
Kaiyi Guo ◽  
Xiaoguang He

Under the background that the development of low-carbon circular economy is the objective requirement for the in-depth implementation of scientific development and the inevitable choice for promoting the sustainable development of economy and society, it is not only the requirement of corporate social responsibility but also the path to realize corporate social responsibility. Enterprises should become the representative and model of social responsibility practice in the development of low-carbon circular economy, in order to promote the fulfilment and development of corporate social responsibility in the whole society. Therefore, it is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the realization of corporate social responsibility in the context of low-carbon circular economy. This paper introduces the connotation of low-carbon circular economy and corporate social responsibility, analyses the reality and theoretical basis of realizing corporate social responsibility in low-carbon circular economy, analyses the interactive relationship between the development of low-carbon circular economy and the realization of corporate social responsibility, and puts forward the construction of enterprise low-carbon operation mechanism. This paper uses the research of corporate social responsibility based on radial basis function neural network to build a low-carbon circular economy. The evaluation model of environment economy coupling development is verified by an example, which provides useful guidance for the evaluation and development of corporate social responsibility.


2021 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 06002
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Bednárik ◽  
Natália Augustínová

Research background: The essence of corporate social responsibility is not new, but its form has changed over the years, as has changed the view on whether it is possible and beneficial to put this idea into practice. CSR concerns economics, corporate management, business ethics, sociology, political science, environmental sciences and many other disciplines and is becoming increasingly popular among the general public. In this context, it is possible to look for connections and links to the circular economy. The circular economy is a sustainable development strategy that creates functional and healthy relationships between nature and human society. It perfectly closes material flows in long-term cycles. Purpose of the article: The paper aims to point out the possibilities of linking CSR concerning the environmental pillar, with the processes of the circular economy in the global environment through a concrete example. Methods: To achieve the set goal, published materials of domestic and foreign authors were examined. As part of the in-depth analysis, case studies of selected subjects were examined. Besides, a synthetic-analytical method and an inductive-deductive method were used. Findings & Value added: The expected result will provide a picture of the possibilities of connecting corporate social responsibility regarding the processes of the circular economy. The findings may lead to a more effective link between CSR and the circular economy.


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